Twists and Turns of Fate
by Erroneous Bard
Summary: Sasuke wakes up somewhere on the battle field. No one can hear him, no one can see him. He's never been more alone. Funny though, that the only person that can see him, and talk to him, is the last person he would expect. Itachi Uchiha. Strange however that he already killed Itachi, a year passed now. What in Kami's name is going on?
1. Away from the Sun

_Note: He screams, but no one hears him. He walks among the lost and the damned. Everyone he knew to be dead were his companions. How was it possible? Logically there is no way he could be...a ghost? Right?_

_Sasuke wakes up somewhere on the battle field. No one can hear him, no one can see him. He's never been more alone. Funny though, that the only person that can see him, and talk to him, is the last person he would expect. Itachi Uchiha. Strange however that he already killed Itachi, a year passed now. What in Kami's name is going on!_

_**Be kind and Review**. I have a basic outline of where I would like this story to go. For now, as with all of my stories, the longest Authors note I will have will be my first chapter. Here I say, this story will be essentially** Sasu/Saku**, but there will be** Naru/Saku** present. Those are the only two pairings I have planned. Though, don't ever put it past me to wiggle in other pairings, if the chapter calls for it._

_This is just a really short, introductory chapter. The next will be much much longer, and more in detail. : ]_

_Pairing: Sasu/Saku, and Naru/Saku, also most likely gonna be a slight Ita/Saku thing...because I can!_

_Rating: For now, T but eventually, it'll be M_

_Goal: Next chapter will be up in about 2 weeks. Shouldn't be any longer, and it might be like 1 week if I'm on the ball._

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything related to Naruto. _

* * *

_It's down to this_

_I've got to make this life make sense_

_Can anyone tell what I've done_

_I miss the life_

_I miss the colors of the world_

_Can anyone tell where I am_

_-Away from the Sun- 3 Doors Down-_

* * *

It was a sinking feeling, like holding your breath under water and slowly dropping to the bottom. Utter silence and desolation.

He became aware first of the sound of screeching, the hum chidori was still ghosting images behind his eyelids, and somewhere a steady thump was becoming a familiar rhythm to his bogged mind. He could vaguely hear panic, bringing with it a prominent amount of terrible noise.

A groan parted from his lips, and as he tried to sit up, he was assailed by a blaring pain in his head, making his vision blur and twist uncomfortably. All the colors before him melded into one mess and he dropped back into the mud. It squished unpleasantly beneath his head, but there was no time to dwell on it.

He came to the realization that he was going to die.

It wasn't something that he had to ponder. He could simply feel it. His bones were aching, his skin burning and stinging, his eyes hard to deny the pleasure of closing never to open again. His head was thrumming painfully, and try as he might, he couldn't move another inch.

This was the end. He was going to die, alone, laying in the mud, and without completing his ultimate goal. He could never destroy Konoha if he just simply died. Who would carry on his dreams of vengeance? More Importantly, how could he die without leaving an offspring. An Uchiha to carry on in his place.

It was because of him that the Uchiha name was dying off. All because he wouldn't let go of the darkness.

It was here, in the dark of the night, just astray of the great war, that the last Uchiha was going to part from this world, alone and on the flat of his back.

* * *

He opened his eyes, and was flooded with the feeling that one normally has after falling asleep for 2 minutes and waking up again. It was an awkward feeling, but not unfamiliar.

His eyes shifted to the left, and to the right, and he had the feeling that he wasn't alone. Experimentally he flexed his fingers, and wiggled his toes.

It was like he was in a dream. For all he knew, he certainly was.

"Narutooooo!" Came a shriek in a very familiar voice.

He found that sitting up this second time wasn't as hard as before, and in one fluid motion he stood and ran towards the noise.

Last thing he'd seen of Naruto, the blond was battling Kisame, rasengan rippling the sky and his determined battle cry coloring his blue eye's dark.

His feet carried him there quickly, and he jerked to a stop just in time to see Naruto land his final blow. Kisame flew through across the opening, and out into the darkness. Sasuke's eyes couldn't part with Naruto's fierce smile, blood leaking from the corners of his lips, as he turned towards Sakura, who had just appeared through the trees. She shot out like a bullet, her lips parted, her eyes wide and her knuckles drawn into a fist.

"Naruto!" She screamed, and he was watching it as it happened.

As Naruto's knees folded beneath his weight, and he bended into himself. Sakura was there before he fell. Sasuke didn't even know she could move that fast, yet she was there, her eyes already leaking tears, and her hands shaking as she carefully eased him onto the ground.

"Naruto-kun." She hummed, her right hand cupping his cheek, and her left pumping green chakra into his chest.

Sasuke stood frozen, his chest surprisingly tight. It had been so long that he'd seen the two of his team mates, with the omission of running into them on the battlefield, that he felt awkward just being hidden in the darkness there. .

Briefly, Sasuke wondered when she had grown so close to Naruto, and just how often moments like this occurred between the two of them. As he stood there, it felt like he was intruding on a private moment, something between just her and Naruto. "Naruto-kun," She echoed his name again, "You're going to be fine." She said quietly, and it was only a moment later that Naruto's hand came up, running through her hair before falling back to his side again with a thump.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto's voice was quiet, and deep, cutting through the distant battle around them, "Good timing."

Sakura laughed sadly, "I was a little late, but," The two stood up, Naruto a little stiffly, but otherwise, apparently unaffected by his previous wounds, "I won't be late next time."

"I never doubted you. " Naruto stretched, his hands reaching into the air, "Okay, Sakura-chan. We can't waste any time. The teme is out there somewhere."

Sasuke stiffened at the sound of his name. How was it they hadn't sensed him earlier? He looked around him, realizing for the first time how odd it was that he was allowed to simply stand there. He took a tentative step out of the cover of the trees, and into the opening where they stood. He was close enough that he could reach them in a few good steps, and yet, neither of them looked his way. Neither seemed to notice him at all.

"Dobe." He barked, his eyes searching them for signs of their panic. Signs that never came.

"Oi, you baka," He was beginning to panic. If this was some kind of joke, it was both the best and worst that he had ever seen. "Naruto!"

Nothing.

He watched as Sakura curled her fingers into a fist, and gave Naruto a soft smile, her green eyes shimmering brightly. "Right." She looked around for a moment like she was lost in thought, and her eyes practically connected with his, yet no recognition colored them. She merely looked right through him, and then back towards Naruto, "I think I saw him that way," She pointed in his direction, her finger aiming right at his chest, and he felt his stomach twist uncomfortably. Something was very wrong. "But it was a while ago. He's probably gone by now," She said dejectedly.

Naruto slung his arm around her, giving her a light squeeze, "That's great, Sakura-chan. We'll start there." He said happily, apparently ignoring the entire world beyond them. The only thing that mattered to his two teammates at this time was him. They were searching for him first and foremost. They were constantly searching for him, worried about him. He was so precious to them, that they were going after him without hesitation.

He felt sick as they quickly ran past him, never stopping to look at him even once. Something was definitely askew.

He looked down at his hands, flexing them experimentally. Could it be, that something strange had happened?

What was the last thing that he remembered? He remembered taking damage fighting one of the Nara clan, before getting away from the battle. He squinted, trying to force the memory to come to him. He hazily remembered feeling very woozy, most likely because of a poison of some sort, and then, nothing. He just remembered waking up.

Waking up all alone, and feeling like he had been healed. He turned and sprinted towards where he last woke up, and the direction Naruto and Sakura had headed off in. Looking back at it, it was strange that he woke up feeling so much better.

Why hadn't he noticed the inconsistencies before?

What was going on here?


	2. Hemorrhage

_Note: Congradulations to me for being on the ball!.. So, it's much sooner than I originally planned, but everything just sort of fell into place. It's a bit longer, but still not as long as my chapters will be in the future. Starting off will take a bit more time but once I get into the thick of the plot, don't worry, the chapters length will grow significantly._

_So, Be kind and feed me my reviews._

_Let me know if you like the way it's progressing. I love your opinions. ENJOY!_

_Pairing:** Sasu/Saku**, **Naru/Saku** mostly. This will be a fairly long fic, so any other pairings that pop up will be spontaneous._

_Rating: **M** for now, mostly for language. May be a bit of sexual themes later, but that's later._

_Goal: Next chapter to be up within a week or two._

**_Disclaimer!_**

* * *

_Memories are just where you need them_

_Drag the waters, till the depths give up their dead_

_What did you expect to find? _

_Was it something you left behind?_

_Don't you remember anything I said when I said?_

_To fall awa__y_

_Leave me to myself_

_To fall away  
_

_-Hemmorage- Fuel-_

* * *

His sandals squelched in the mud, and his legs pumped so frantically that he had already caught up with Naruto and Sakura. He was trailing right behind them, almost like he were a part of the team.

It wouldn't have been much different in reality, if he really were there. Silently tagging along in the back of the group, simply being among them, but never really participating.

"Ne Naruto-kun, is it really okay that we're looking for Sasuke and not helping the others?" Came Sakura's uncertain question, sharp in Sasuke's ears. As they sprung along, from tree branch to tree branch, their speed was just slow enough that they were certain not to miss anything that could lead them to Sasuke's whereabouts.

Naruto gave an uneasy laugh to relieve the tension, and from his place behind them, Sasuke felt a prick of nostalgic annoyance in the way he only did when around the blond. "We'll just have to leave the others to Sai and Kakashi-sensei." He looked at her, his smile small and his eyes creased. "We've gotta get moving! The teme is here somewhere, and it could be our only chance." Sakura mumbled something, and for some reason, Sasuke wished more than anything that he knew what it was. "Besides, I know the others will be fine. They're strong too."

"I guess." So unsure, she glanced around like she was almost certain that someone was listening.

Sasuke felt his jaw tighten. If they really knew he was there, would they hate him? If they were suddenly able to see him, would they turn on him, attack him? He supposed it would be weird if they didn't, he was after all a part of this. He was a part of the attack on their village.

He was their enemy. On several occasions he had made it clear that he was against them. That they had never done anything but drag him down in his life.

Looking at them, he felt his chest constrict. Funny that looking at them made him feel like he was the one staring at ghosts. Ghosts of his past. Figments that haunted his dreams, and made him hate Konoha even more, because after all, if they were there, how could he really hate that place?

Could he really hate the place that Naruto and Sakura, who both had loved him so dearly, treasured so much. Would give their life to protect?

Abruptly, his knees almost gave out. A strange tingling sensation, like suddenly he was being injected with some sort of energy.

He caught wind of his chakra, off to his left, and he took off towards it without further thought, leaving Naruto and Sakura there as they continued on their path. He raced towards his own chakra, feeling displaced and determined.

And without warning, there he was. He skidded to a halt, his knees locking up and his heart pounding. Face up, with his lips slightly parted as if he died with words still begging to be released, and sprawled out spread eagle in the mud, he gazed down at himself. He felt an throbbing sensation scale along his spine.

He looked surprisingly lame, just laying there, his eyes closed as if he were sleeping, in a puddle of mud, slightly tinted red. His katana lay discarded, several meters away, and Sasuke wondered how it got that far away from him. It didn't seem likely that he would go very long without it.

He felt something akin to panic bubble up within him, and he looked around sightlessly. Searching for everything, yet nothing at the same time.

"Fuck." He uttered the curse quietly, his head dropping down, his hair falling into his eyes. He breathed for a moment, before turning around and disappearing into the trees.

This couldn't be. Something had to be done about this. It wasn't possible. He couldn't make sense of it. There was his body, but he was still here. He was moving, thinking, feeling things. He couldn't be dead, right? He wasn't really a ghost, because he was still here. He was right here, damn it!

His legs couldn't move fast enough as he followed the faint chakra signal of his once best friend. They were a ways away from his body, and going in the wrong direction.

They had slowed again, not far away, before completely stopping. He rushed to meet them, and when he did he almost panicked. They had slowed because they had run into an obstacle.

Sasuke reached them just as they were recoiling to a halt themselves. Before them was Kakashi, and Sasuke felt an invasion of emotions as he laid eyes on the gray haired man before him.

"Good," Sasuke noted that his voice was the same, at this time ragged and tired, but still deep as ever. "I've been looking for you."

Sasuke watched Sakura run to Kakashi, her hands pushing him down and back against a tree, and her pink hair falling into her eyes as her hands began glowing green. Apparently, Sakura was a medic first and foremost. She remained quiet by Kakashi's side as he looked up pointedly at Naruto, "Have you seen Sasuke?"

Sasuke wanted to scream. It was amazing how angry he was getting. He wanted to shout, _I'm right here you idiots! _But, it would be futile. There was something going on here, and until he figured it out, he would have to watch from the wings.

Naruto shook his head. "We've been looking. I know he's here, I can feel it." The blond seemed incredibly agitated. So close to his ultimate goal. Sasuke just kept slipping through his fingers like water.

Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes in frustration. Sakura finished healing Kakashi a moment later, and returned to her place by Naruto's side, remarkably quickly. Naruto seemed to visibly relax when she placed a hand on his arm. "Naruto-kun." She purred his name and he gave her a small reassuring smile, that Sasuke imagined was anything but a true reflection of Naruto's real emotions.

Kakashi seemed to be getting antsy. "First and foremost, you two need to locate Sasuke. Find him, and bring him in. Ignore everything else. If we don't find the Uchiha, things will get out of hand. We can't afford to have him running free. This may be our only chance, and we can't waste it." He barked the order with in cold, detached tone. Somehow it didn't hurt his feelings that Kakashi apparently no longer held an attachment to him. It was a very shinobi mindset.

In fact, it was strange for anyone to hold attachments over him. The only people he could imagine would never forget him, were the two standing directly before him. Not even a foot away.

They were within touching distance of him, and yet, it was like he wasn't even there. It was like an out of body experience. He squinted, actually, it was exactly like an out of body experience. Was that what this was? Just some crazy dream, or insane genjutsu?

Naruto and Sakura both gave a firm nod.

Kakashi jumped into the trees, and was gone in the next instance, leaving Naruto to turn to Sakura with a tightlipped, humorless grin. "Ya here that? We've gotta find Sasuke tonight, no matter what!" Such an overworked creed, that Naruto would apparently never let rest.

Though, she didn't seem to think so negatively of it. She gave him a dazzling smile, and Sasuke found himself walking around to the other side of them, by Naruto, just so he could get a better look at it. He hadn't seen her so happy since they were children. To see this grown up version of the Sakura he once knew smiling, was an odd sight, for him anyways.

The last time he had seen Sakura, she had been glaring at him, her eyebrows pinched together in a frown, and her knuckled white against the steel of her kunai. That day he realized that she had reached her limit. If she had to, she would have killed him that day. If it had come down to it, she may have taken his life, that much he could see in her eyes. Such a sad acceptance, like she was staring at a phantom version of the boy she had once promised her love to, and she knew that she would do what needed to be done.

He looked at her now, smiling at Naruto, probably just for his sake, and he felt a strange feeling in his chest. A squeezing, uncomfortably feeling.

Who was this girl?

"Naruto," He breathed, and no recognition passed over their features to show that they had heard him.

In fact, his team members sprung off, as if his very words had set them into motion, and they were going the wrong way.

He took off with them, not daring to part from the only chance he may have of finding out what was going on. "Dobe," He barked, speeding up to land his rhythmic jumping right beside Naruto's, "You're going the wrong way." He was growing desperate as they continued on. "Naruto you baka, you're never going to find me if you go that way!" He shouted, and his eyes shifted towards Sakura.

For the first time since this freaky night started he drifted over to her side, "Sakura," Her name felt strange on his lips, "You have to figure this out!" He was incredibly annoyed now, "Figure out what the fuck is going on here! If anyone can, you can!"

.

.

.

"They can't hear you." A languid drawl that sent him flailing towards the earth.

Surprisingly, as he plummeted into the dirt face first, his nose and chin colliding into the ground to break his fall, he felt no pain. He pushed himself up, spitting out chunks of dirt and scrubbing a hand across his mouth. No blood was present when he pulled it away, and he briefly wondered why.

As his adrenaline settled, his vision settled on the figure standing before him. Tall, but with slouching shoulders, with his long hair pinned at his nape, and a very familiar dull expression, Sasuke shook his head. "It can't be." He tried to decided if he was dreaming, and seriously considered pinching himself. This had to be the worst fucking dream he'd ever had.

Itachi Uchiha stood before him, his Akatsuki cloak curiously absent, but otherwise very much the same as the last day Sasuke had seen him. Sasuke felt his heart hammering in his chest. The day that he had managed to kill his brother. To purge the monster of the Uchiha clan from the earth, with little mercy, in the name of revenge.

"Itachi! This isn't fucking real…" He scrubbed a hard hand over his face, and released a deep breath. "None of this is fucking real."

Itachi's lips pulled into an almost unnoticeable smirk. "Actually, it's very real." He shook his head, like he knew something that Sasuke didn't, and it made his blood boil. "It is real, and to continue screaming at your teammates would produce zero results."

Sasuke tensed at the mention of his _friends_. Naruto and Sakura were headed in the wrong direction. He went to leave again, to follow them and somehow get them back on the right track, but Itachi was suddenly in front of him. Directly in front of him, with those knowing eyes, which were surprisingly a void black, rather than sharingan red.

"That won't help, little brother." He shook his head and Sasuke felt insulted. Was he being chided? "No matter what you do, they aren't going to respond."

Sasuke took a step away from Itachi, and curled his fingers up into fists.

Itachi sighed, "Well, it looks like you fucked everything up." He shook his head, "I tried so hard to make this easy for you Sasuke, but it looks like you're here with me, despite my best efforts. Dead as a door mouse, ne?" The taller Uchiha's bland face turned out into the darkness of the forest, and Sasuke remembered something.

He remember that the last time he had encountered his brother, the older boy had been all but blind. He had to be that way now. "What the fuck is going on here, Itachi." He ground out, "If you know something, tell me."

Itachi turned his empty expression back on Sasuke, "You saw your body with your own eyes, little brother."

"Does that mean-"

"-You're dead."

.

.

.

"Dead?"


	3. Seasons to Cycles

_This is a short chapter, but I wanted to put it up anyways. The next will probably be much longer, and it'll be much more immersed in the plot line. There will be a bit of SasuSaku romance in this story, and I'm planning it in a very crazy, but nice way, a bit later. For now, you'll have to hold on and let the storyline take it's course. I can't rush the romance in this story, but don't worry, it's coming._

_Pairing: Sasu/Saku, slight Naru/Saku, and perhaps a bit of Ita/Saku, eventually, though that won't be until later._

_Goal: Next chapter I'll try to finish in a week or two, and post within 3._

_Disclaimer_

_Be kind and review!_

* * *

_Our lives_

_You build your walls for me to climb_

_A billion walls for me to climb_

_You build your walls for me to climb_

_-Seasons to Cycles-10 years-_

* * *

Sasuke glared at his brother, his forehead creasing and his jaw setting into a stern line. "Are you trying to say that I'm just fucking dead? I died and now I'm some kind of," He paused, his annoyance peaking, "ghost or something?"

Before him, his brothers expression remained neutral at the idea. "You'll come to accept it sooner or later. My guess is at our passing, we still had something left in our life that we felt we needed to achieve, and therefore, cannot pass on."

Sasuke gritted his teeth, "So we're both here because we died without reaching our goal?"

Itachi shrugged, "That's the most logical conclusion."

"Well what's your goal? If you're still here, there must be a reason."

When Itachi sprung off, jumping in the direction that Naruto and Sakura had gone, Sasuke followed him without hesitation. He once had an intense case of hero worship for his brother. Being in a setting like this one, where he didn't necessarily have to feel animosity towards the older Uchiha, he could easily fall back into that pattern.

Itachi's dull voice didn't surprise him. "Your teammates are likely to search for you all night."

Sasuke's face twisted with displeasure. "They aren't my teammates."

His brother's blank expression, and lack of response, was just as good as any denial he could have spoken.

The padding of their feet atop of the branches was the only sound present for the time they spent searching for Naruto and Sakura. The steady thrum, hollow and familiar, calmed his nerves.

Whatever was going on, it was only made stranger by Itachi's appearance. If he wasn't dreaming, it sure enough was the most unexpected thing he could have imagined.

They diverged on Naruto and Sakura, who it seemed, had yet again been sidetracked from their mission of finding Sasuke. This annoyed him to no end.

It was a man with such a frightful pallor, that he felt like he was gazing at a real ghost. White skin, empty black eyes, and lips tipped into a smile that was as phony as any he had ever seen.

Sasuke and Itachi now joined the scene around them as spirits, standing among a group of his past peers, but not being of them. He was standing just beside Sakura, with Naruto ahead of him, and Itachi at his other side. Before him, he gazed at a man he couldn't place where or why, but somehow it seemed that he recognized him.

Surrounded by the forest, in the dark of the night, and distracted by both the battle, and the hopes of finding their long lost teammate, Naruto and Sakura looked worse for wear.

Sasuke found it almost ironic that he was right there, within reach of them. If he wanted, he could reach out and touch them. They were closer than they knew, and it was a bitter sting to his heart.

He may have hated Konoha, and in many ways, he had hated his team for their weakness and the weakness they wanted to instill in him, but he could never really relinquish his feelings for them. He did an excellent job of pushing them into the back of his mind, but he couldn't banish just how grateful he was for their loyalty.

Sakura looked relieved to see this other man. "Sai," She called his name like it was home to her, familiar and welcomed. "You're okay."

The man nodded uninterestedly, but his tone of voice was deceivingly playful. "Of course I am." There was something very devious about his voice that Sasuke didn't like. "Have you located the Uchiha?"

Naruto was dejected at the mention of his name, and Sasuke took a step away from them, placing distance there. Even though they couldn't see him, or sense them, he needed that distance. He didn't want to watch this. He just wanted them to leave. To run towards him, and miraculously find him. To free him.

"Sasuke's out here somewhere," Sakura was the one that spoke this time, and Sasuke found that his gaze remained on her long after the others began speaking again. He watched her in a way that he was free to do as a man who remained unseen.

He studied the way her teeth drug across her lip when the pale man, Sai spoke of their need to locate him. He felt a tug in his chest when she cast those wide green eyes to the ground, and clutched her chest, like he had seen her do so many times when they were young.

This was something he should consider to be shameful; the act of watching her, studying her, observing her, but yet, he couldn't.

He simply found it intriguing.

Sai seemed to find their loyalty to him disappointing. "We must locate the traitor quickly." He ground out, his tone and expression perfectly crafted.

Naruto bristled up, his shoulders leveling out and his hand reaching out to grab Sakura's own. She didn't seem surprised or annoyed by this, she just looked over at him loyally. "We'll handle this Sai." Naruto's tone was surprisingly sour and defensive. "Just help Kakashi-sensei."

"You're angry." Sai stated, almost in a questioning way, and it confused Sasuke.

In all of this, Itachi seemed surprisingly absent. Sasuke's eyes shifted over to his brother, and he say blankness there. Simply watching them. Surprisingly enough, Itachi's eyes seemed to be exclusively watching Sakura, rather than the others. He didn't have time to wonder about it however, before he found himself also watching Sakura.

"Sai," She spoke softly, and caringly. She cared for this boy very much it seemed, "we need to do this alone." She winked at him and from his nearness Sasuke could the twinkle in her eyes. He thought it was far too sweet to deny. "Sasuke is our teammate."

There was something like irritation in Sai's demeanor, and this time it seemed slightly less forced. "He _was_ your teammate." It was clear that he didn't seem to understand the sentiment they both felt for Sasuke. "I am a member of team 7, as well. This is my mission as much as it is yours."

It seemed that Naruto was going to argue, but Sakura shook her head, "We're wasting time." She barked, and she look from Naruto, over to Sai in one sweep, "Let's just go." She repeated it in an echoing way, like she was trying to repeat it to herself. "Let's just go."

With those words, the three took off again, as a unit. Apparently, Sai was now on the hunt with them, for Sasuke's body.

Itachi jumped after them, and Sasuke followed, unsure of whether he was happy about Sai's involvement or not.

This was turning out to be more of a problem for him than he could imagine.

If only he knew what the hell was going on, or how he could fix it. He would rather fix the problem himself, but it seemed, for now at least, that he would have to follow his teammates and will them to find his body. Maybe if they could at least figure out what was going on, he could free himself.


End file.
